Building a fake city to test drones

A whole city is being built in New Mexico for the sole purpose of testing new technologies that can be potentially harmful to human beings.

With the emerging trend of innovations such as drones and self driving cars, these technologies need a testing ground that is as close as possible to real scenarios but that cannot cause any harm to people.

The construction of the facility is privately funded and it will take 4 years in order to build both the city above the ground and the underground operation center.

This is not the first time a town is built for testing purposes, but the most notorious examples are all related to the testing of nuclear bombs effects on very small facilities and extremely basic urban constructions. The scale of CITE is unprecedented and it represents a groundbreaking environment based on a business model that sees tech companies as its central clients. CITE is going to be the playground and test lab that such companies will be able to populate with their technologies while collecting data and insights on their behavior in all the available scenarios.

KNUTSFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: A youth poses as he rides a hoverboard, which are also known as self-balancing scooters and balance boards, on October 13, 2015 in Knutsford, England. The British Crown Prosecution Service have declared that the devices are illegal as they are are too unsafe to ride on the road, and too dangerous to ride on the pavement. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)